The actual origins of gin can be traced to 17th century Holland. When, in 1650, a doctor mixed oil of juniper berries with grain alcohol, calling it "genever" (from the French word for juniper). At about the same time, English soldiers fighting on the European continent were introduced to the spirit. When the soldiers with a preference for this new beverage returned to England, soon the rest of the population grew fond of it as well, and gin eventually became the national drink of England. It was the English that eventually shortened the name to "gin". Gin mixed well with quinine (or tonic water) which helped to alleviate the effects of malaria, so naturally gin became the tipple of choice by the English Foreign Service in the "colonies" of India and Africa. Just imagine British Colonial officers sitting on a wide veranda sipping Gin and Tonics at the club. Jolly good!

The origins of the “dry gin” that London distillers eventually developed is very different from the Genever Gin still made by the Dutch, which is heavier in body and stronger flavored. London Dry Gin first appeared when the continuous still was invented in the early 1800’s, making a purer spirit possible. Originally, the phrase "London Dry Gin" specified a geographic location – that the gin was made in or near London. Now, the term is considered to be generic and is used to describe a "style" of gin. In fact, there are only two gins actually distilled in London today, Beefeater and Sipsmith. Old Tom is a style of gin somewhere in between the full-bodied Geneva and the sweet, botanical London Dry. In the mid-1800's, if you went to a bar and asked for "gin", you were served either Genever or Old Tom. By the 1900's, London Dry style surpassed both. Today, Old Toms are making a resurgence.

Gin is made by distilling a 75% corn grain mash, and then adding various natural flavoring agents without redistillation. This method is called "compounding". London Dry uses the column distilled method. Gin gets its primary flavor from juniper berries, but many other herbs and spices go into the make-up. The botanicals come from all over the world, such as: Cardamom from Sri Lanka, cassia bark from Vietnam, orange peel from Spain, coriander seed from the Czech Republic and angelica root from Germany. Most of the juniper berries themselves are still imported from Italy. There are also dozens of other possible ingredients including anise, licorice root, cinnamon, almond, lime peel, grapefruit peel, saffron, frankincense, coriander and nutmeg. Each distiller has his/her own secret formula and no two gin brands are exactly alike. By law, gin is fermented and distilled, but never aged. Although, there is a trend emerging with barrel-aging gin.

While classic London Dry Gin will probably never go out of style, it's now joined on the shelves by the growing ranks of artisanally-produced American Dry Gins. In addition to the required juniper component, today's newer gins are toning down the juniper and adapting a growing array of herbs, spices, flowers and citrus. And with the recent introduction of new-fangled artisanal tonics, sodas and bitters, mixologists are favoring gin as a principal ingredient in many of their modern cocktails.

The Tasting:The Fifty Best held a “blind” tasting of 44 gins with 19 pre-qualified judges. The gins were judged and scored separately. Strict tasting rules were applied. The order of service was established beforehand by lottery. Each of the gins were poured into fresh glasses from new sealed bottles, and served at slightly above room temperature. Only ice water, unflavored unsalted crackers and chips were available to cleanse the palate. The judges tasted through six flights of 7 gins and one flight of 3 gins. There was a food break after the third flight.

The judges wrote down their impressions of each product on score sheets. The scoring was done on a 5-point system, with 5 as the best. Double-Gold, Gold and Silver medals are awarded based on a set range of final point scores received from the judges. There were no bronze medals awarded for this tasting.

The tasting notes that follow are summaries of the judges’ opinions, with all replicated commentary eliminated. The countries and states of origin are identified for each brand.

Fri. February 27, 2015 11:46 AM - by: Alasdair Wilkie
So having twenty plus gins at home, almost none on this list. The main ones missing are, Ungava, Magellan, Sipsmith's, Bathtub, Brooklyn, Edinburgh, Strathspey, and countless others....
Agree with previous comments a very USA centric list. Sun. February 8, 2015 5:15 PM - by: Dontay
NOLET'S???Sat. January 24, 2015 2:07 PM - by: Daren
There are so many Gins now available these days, it is like saying we are tasting the top 50 wines in the world, it's an impossible task. There will always be top ranking, or, heaven forbid, your favourite, that will be missing from such a list. It is but a snapshot...Sat. January 17, 2015 4:59 AM - by: Ylda
Where is Monkey 47 ?Sun. December 21, 2014 1:09 PM - by: Gustav Nyby Lise
The Swedish Hernö Gin is definitely missing! And what about the German Monkey 47 or the English Chase? Seems like you're only ranking US stuff on the listSat. December 6, 2014 4:04 PM - by: David
Ungava gin, made in Quebec Canada. Pleasing to the taste and eye. It's yellow color is from herbs added to the mixFri. December 5, 2014 8:50 AM - by: TOM
There are several Belgian / Dutch gins missing. Gin comes originally from the "low lands" (in 17th century this was currently Flanders in Belgium and the South of The Netherlands). Cockney's gin as the oldest Belgium gin (1838) is missing for sure! Fri. October 24, 2014 6:19 AM - by: ian Bell
Edinburgh Gin is excellent cannot believe that it is not on the listTue. June 10, 2014 6:53 PM - by: Brian
Hendricks is excellent, but Two James is equally amazing, if not more so. Can't believe it only got silver.Tue. April 8, 2014 2:00 PM - by: Sheena
HENDRICKS GIN IS SCOTTISH ..... And it's lovely!

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